DE.

Stings watching the EFL highlights and seeing Brittain directly involved in all of Boro's attacks.

I think they're genuinely convinced they can continue to slash costs and stay in the division. False confidence brought about by JDT & Eustace performing miracles with a squad that was continually being downgraded (albeit the wheels fell off for JDT towards the end). Their 'strategy' was only ever one managerial change away from disaster, and we may be there. Neither JDT nor Eustace were willing to see the core of the team replaced by cheap, unknown alternatives, knowing the consequences, and so both ultimately found a way out. Ismael is seemingly on board with it, and I can only see it ending one way.

Hull game aside, we've averaged 2 shots a game in the other three league matches. 1 against WBA, 2 against Brum and 3 today. For me that is not OK, we can't win matches with such a low amount of shots hitting the target and our current attacking options being what they are. Particularly when, Hull game aside, we've conceded in every match as well. We simply have to do better at the opponent's end of the pitch because, even if we are in games, those fine margins will likely continue to go against us.

At the moment I'll reserve judgement on most of them, but I'm not optimistic either. My concern is more that, even if some of them improve and the team gels into a more cohesive unit, we may still be fighting a losing battle if confidence is low and we've lost a lot of matches by the time that happens. We cannot afford to keep losing games whilst waiting for the team to gel. They have to start picking up results, and if they're incapable of doing so whilst adjusting, then we're going to be in huge trouble and it will have been a mistake from Suhail and Gestede to initiate such a destructive transition.

I think it's still too early to make definitive judgements either way, as we do need to give the team time to gel, considering the amount of change... but early signs are very mixed for me. Alebiosu looks promising. Miller should be solid enough. McLoughlin has been OK but cost us today. Tavares looks like he has flaws, but may improve. Henriksson underwhelming but limited game time, so not enough to go off yet. Think De Neve would struggle to be useful in our u23 team, honestly. Feels like there's a lot riding on Morishita stepping up. Baradji too, but who knows when we'll see him play as we have apparently signed him injured. Of the remaining players from last season, massive question marks over many of them, especially in the forward area of the pitch. I'm not convinced we can rely on Kargbo, Ohashi and Gueye to step up on a regular basis as serious attacking threats. We know Hedges is not a serious option as a first teamer. I think we desperately need to sign a good striker at the very least, and then pray he stays fit for most of the season. The thing is, whilst it's perfectly reasonable to say the team needs time to gel, we can't afford to get into negative momentum so early in the season. We can't keep losing home matches - at the very least we need to snatch some draws. If we continue losing then confidence is going to drop and having lost so much Championship experience, that may be very difficult to recover from.

He can't really strike a ball properly 85% of the time, which is going to limit anyone playing as a striker.

I would assume it's just the hardcore attending these days anyway? Hard to imagine our attendances fluctuating that much based on isolated results. I would only expect significant changes for midweek cup games against lower league opposition or conversely cup games against a PL team.

Grim.

Is it unlucky to cast off huge amounts of Championship experience, replace them with cheap punts and then find results aren't going your way?

Better forward line and we would have at least drawn here against a very underwhelming Norwich side. Decent striker needed to avoid a frustrating and potentially disastrous season, I fear.

Agreed, but I think last week would have been much closer in different circumstances. It stands out massively from all of the other matches we've played this season.

They're bang average and will finish mid table at best.

If we're this shit against Norwich we're in huge trouble. Hull result was blatantly down to the majority of their squad being unwell.

Wonder how long Sheff Utd persist with Selles? Dire results and performances in every match so far. Think he could genuinely relegate them if given the entire season.

The funny thing with Graham is that he was crap at Sunderland, came here and was pretty solid, then went back to Sunderland and was rubbish again 🤣

Would have loved to see Leonard come good, but I never saw anything, even when he was fit, which suggested he'd be able to cut it at this level as a first teamer. If we've got £1m for him with some add-ons/clauses then I think that's great business.

He said last season he'd walk away if he wasn't taking the team forward during this campaign. His interview after the Grimsby match made it sound like he was close to following through on that promise. Rumours that he offered to resign last season as well. Can't see how it ends well for Amorim at this point. That image of him cowering on the bench whilst his team lost a penalty shootout to Grimsby will haunt him forevermore. Absolutely brutal. Lose to Burnley and I wouldn't be surprised to see him offer to resign (either for the first time, or again, depending on who you believe). One of the most toxic situations I've ever seen, there. They underachieved post-Ferguson, significantly, but they're plumbing entirely new depths at the moment.

Unless he was carrying an injury it was pretty weird. If I'm a United fan I'd be equally concerned that our new £74m striker couldn't score or even look especially useful against a team from League Two, mind.

Mowbray did quite fine out of his stance. Lasted at least two years longer than he would have at most clubs considering some of the horrendous death spirals we endured during his tenure. I'm sure he was paid well and by his own admission had no real pressure to achieve anything beyond trundling along in the Championship. No fan pressure either - the bloke had flags with his face on them being waved before every home match! Don't think there's any need to feel sorry for him, he had it good here for far longer than the average manager tenure in this division.

Haha, that's quite a scathing article for the BBC. This is why Martin rubs people the wrong way. He sounds like some kind of deranged cult leader - and even worse, he has zero evidence to back up any claims that his system will bear fruit at any point in the future. It's never delivered anything more than mediocrity. Even at a parachute payment club in the Championship the best he could manage was 4th - and whilst they did ultimately achieve the bare minimum of going up, their PL campaign was so bad that if they'd kept Martin they probably would have broken the record for worst ever points tally.

If there's one thing that should be obvious by now, it's that even when the club appears to be running "sensibly", the owners will find away to sabotage everything in due course. It's as inevitable as our annual post-Christmas collapse.

Amorim's post match interview sounded like a man who has given up all hope. Implied the players weren't playing for him. Personally think it's nonsense when a manager at that level is tied to one system and can't adapt.

Hard to see how he comes back from this. United didn't turn up until the last 20 minutes against League Two opposition, and it's not like it was an u23's team selection out there. Couldn't have scripted drama like that though. A late equaliser from United, they look set to go through on pens, then miss their 5th penalty. The penalties then go on for so long that the takers are being recycled. The miss then comes from one of their brand new signings. I can't get over the visual of Amorim hiding on the bench during the penalties with his head down. That is ridiculous for any manager, let alone one at a supposedly big club. How can he expect his players to deal with pressure if he can't?

Wonder what the philosophical post-match nugget of wisdom will be this time.

Our finishes over the last four seasons are 8th, 7th, 19th and 7th... so generally it's probably fair to say that 7th is about right for the players we had. That group made it obvious that they didn't have the mentality required to get over the line, but they were good enough to hover around it. If the ambition is playoffs then those core players weren't going to achieve it, so you could argue moving them on isn't an issue. It's just a question of whether bringing in players on lower wages with no Championship experience will improve the situation. It's all on Gestede, Owen and the recruitment team as to whether they've unearthed some hidden gems or downgraded the team. We will see.